We should not sugarcoat it. From the resurgent virus to climate-driven wildfires and extreme weather; from the gun violence crisis to the ongoing challenges in our economic recovery, health care, education, racial justice, and civil liberties - this is an unsettling time.

And the question we all have to ask ourselves is: Who do we want in charge in the face of all these challenges?

Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy, and their right-wing allies are confident that they can win back the House in 2022 and block the progress we are making.

We must not let them win.

On January 6th, our democracy came under attack by domestic terrorists, egged on by Donald Trump.

Millions of Americans watched it unfold on live television. Numerous media outlets have recreated the timeline, assembling footage from multiple viewpoints.

But despite all that, how much do we really know about what caused the insurrection?

It seems that most Republicans in Congress — led by GOP leader Kevin McCarthy — want to sweep this under the rug. They want to pretend it never happened.

We are not going to let that happen. This week, a select committee of the House began hearings into what happened in the run-up to that terrible day.

Last year, we organized, mobilized and voted in record numbers. We did this, in part, because we needed real leadership and solutions to address the pandemic. The American Rescue Plan is one of the major successes of our historic turnout in the last election. Because of the change in leadership real relief has been delivered to our families, small businesses, schools and local communities who suffered through the inaction of the last administration.

When we talk about the American Rescue Plan we have to be very clear that it is more than just another budget line item. It is a massive investment in critical support for Northwest Washington communities feeling the pain from a historic pandemic.